The Recital Hall felt colder today, or maybe that was just me.
Min-ah bounced into her usual seat, already pulling out her phone, but I hesitated by the door, scanning the room.
It was still a lunch break, so some of the students were missing. Some of them maybe on the roof, some still in the cafeteria, idk.
Class 2-B (my class) was mixed with another group – Class 2-A, the Visual Arts track students. They definitely had a different vibe – more focused on aesthetics, sketching in notebooks even before class started.
The bell rang.
Jun-seo and Myung-Dae were both absent – probably still dealing with the fallout from their fight or serving that 'leadership detention' Ms. Choi mentioned.
Ha-neul was present, looking studiously at her sheet music.
And right in the front row, sitting with her arms crossed among the 2-A students, was Yoo Chae-rin. She was pointedly ignoring the empty stage.
The elegant professor with the severe bun clapped her hands sharply, demanding attention.
"Alright, settle down." Her eyes flickered towards Min-ah, who quickly hid her phone. "Today, we begin preliminary work for the Autumn Festival showcases. Not the main stage," she clarified, "but the combined performances."
She consulted her tablet. "I have assigned initial pairings based on complementary skills... and perhaps, necessary challenges." A thin, dangerous smile touched her lips. She knew she was stirring the pot.
"First group: Lee Ha-neul (2-B, piano), Kim Min-jun (2-A, vocals)." Ha-neul nodded, unsurprised. "Kang Min-ah (2-B, composition), and Park Ji-soo (2-A, cello)." Min-ah groaned dramatically but pulled out a notebook.
The professor continued down the list, assigning singers with instrumentalists, composers with dancers. My stomach twisted with each name called. Who was I going to get stuck with? Kang-min? One of Myung-Dae's silent, brooding friends?
"...Second group: Lim Soo-wan(2-B). guitar, with Choi Seo-yeon(2-B), vocals." Lim Soo-wan didn't even look up, just gave a barely perceptible shrug. "...Choi Mi-Jun(2-B), Bo Ji-yeon(2-A)," the professor's eyes landed squarely on me, then shifted coolly to the front row. "Eun Ga-hwa(2-B)."
Hm? So many from my class, there's only Bo Ji… Ah, I forgot her name already… From 2-A.
Professor continued with grouping the students.
There were groups that had from 3 to 10 students.
In the end, I was so confused on trying to remember the names that I've managed remembered neither. What if I'll need to be in a group with Yoo Chae-rin?
The only thing I knew that there were 11 groups now.
If I understood right, there must be at least 3 in a group, so this won't be too awkward. Heheheh.
"...and finally, we have four people left," the professor announced, her eyes landing squarely on me, then shifting coolly to the front row where Chae-rin sat. "So, that will constitute our last two groups... pairs".
Pairs? Oh no.
"Yoo Chae-rin (2-A) and San-ssi (2-B)," she declared, her voice crisp. And then, dropping the second bomb, "And Park Jun-seo (2-B) and Lee Myung-Dae (2-B)".
The room went dead silent.
My mind went blank.
Did I hear that right?
Me and Chae-rin? And Jun-seo... with Myung-Dae?
Chae-rin's head snapped up.
Looks like it was for real.
Her face, which had been perfectly composed, flushed a furious, blotchy red. "Professor!" she gasped, standing up so fast her chair scraped loudly. "Absolutely not! I refuse!" My own blood ran cold.
Oh, kill me now.
The professor didn't even blink.
"Sit down, Chae-rin-ssi."
"But Professor! With him?" Chae-rin gestured wildly in my direction, not even looking at me.
"Your personal feelings are irrelevant," the professor stated flatly. "This is a performance. You will act like professionals. This is your assignment."
"I won't!" Chae-rin declared, her voice trembling with fury. She grabbed her designer handbag from her desk. "I absolutely refuse to work with... with that!" And without waiting for permission, without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the recital hall, slamming the heavy door behind her with a bang that echoed through the stunned silence.
The professor just watched her go, her expression unreadable.
Then she looked at me, still frozen in my seat.
"Well," she said, her voice dangerously calm. "We have eleven groups and two pairs. You may also need to prepare outside our classes, deadline is till our last lesson before the festival. In that class the two groups… or pairs which are chosen to present their performances on the festival will receive the highest marks. If you don't present your performance your group will have a zero and that'll affect your rankings."
The class erupted into motion, students shuffling chairs, pulling out instruments, starting hushed conversations.
I was frozen in the back row, clutching my guitar case, my mind a complete blank. I had to work with her. The Ice Queen who thought I was filthy scum. For weeks. This was not fine. This was hell.